Granted, my first burn was last year and I'm no expert but my impressions remain. They are:

-People at BM are more likely to do something random and spontaneous. Camps that seemed contrived were usually empty, except for a few horny guys waiting for a girl to walk by so they could give her a foot rub.

-This camp, with it's fence and security guards is exactly why old burners (some are good friends of mine who sent me on my path) won't come back. It's against the spirit of the burn.

-Sex is great. Sex on a nasty air mattress is not great. I don't care how much you say you're going to clean. If you've EVER been to the playa, you know that it's not happening without an air-tight chemically steralized clean-room.

Folks were using edit to go back and delete all their posts, so we disabled it. Still looking for a timed solution (like 5 min) for folks to fix typos, but we are suggesting that folks use the "preview" button instead of submit in the meantime.
returning to your regularly scheduled topic now

The only thing I can think of is it is like when people ask 'What is Burning Man' and they get a quick answer like Woodstock, giant Rave, Disneyworld etc. Then take the other side where everybody says have no expectations and that burning man is a little like everything and not like anything else.

This person has diluted it to just one thing, a sex party. There really is no other theme to his camp. Sure there is nudity at burning man, sure there are other camps where sex takes place. But it is all part of the greater whatever that is burning man. These things are in some sort of context, at least in the artists eyes, in these other camps or just random individuals doing things. This person thinks the end all be all of Burning Man will be mass produced free sex. Sure sounds good on paper, but I’m not driving 3000 miles just to get laid. it would be cheaper to go to the red light district or go to mustang ranch.

If I were going to walk into a scene like they describe I would want it to be more natural with some interpersonal interaction. Meaning not just go get laid but meet people do things relate to them on a personal level and then if things work have some fun. Meaning walk around an participate in all burning man has to offer and what happens, happens.

I don’t know does this make sense to anybody else, I know this bothers me too, just having a hard time grasping the why. I like Sex, nudity and parties too and plan on doing 2 out of 3 if not all 3, but not there.

I hate theme camps, but I accept them. Every single theme camp is a joke, but we aren't about to put them all up for a touch-screen vote on the eplaya. Theme camps are an institution whether you like what one or the other does or not. Some are ridiculous, some are clever, some are LOUD, some are quietly banal, some wouldn't make the cut for grammar school show-and-tell, some physically assault you, some involve rape fantasies, some get you smelly drunk and don't drive you home, some verbally abuse you, and some have purported to facilitate the same physical recreational participitory activities as this one.

I don't care whether this is a vapor camp or not -- most of you should be ashamed of how you're goading our dear readers into abusing a camp that you think violates your own immaculate conceptions of The Holy Spirit of Burning Man. And the wailings and whinings of people who work and volunteer for Burning Man about how much money -- by their guess -- one lil' ol' theme camp is spending on facilitating the ultimate in participatory activity -- just look in the mirror, folks. How much ticket money does it cost to do *your* art? Ever done a budget on your own impact on the event, in terms of bureaucratic dead-weight versus artistic import? You make me puke a hedonistic, planetary, wanton puke.

But feel free to describe how your own camp is so much better. Please include a detailed mission statement, budget, JPEGs, and certifications that your asses smells like roses.

Maybe he just means that it annoys him in concept, or pushes his buttons, or something. Personally, I like them, even if some of them are lame or tame. Whatever floats your playa boat!

Mine are way cool, and I'm looking for more members to join: Camp Redhead and Evil Sock Puppet Camp. Camp Redhead is for redheads (men and women) and their admirers. We serve cold red beer, hot red chili and down-tempo grooves. Our "activity" is making and playing with evil sock puppets (hint: they like to play with matches...)

It's just a light-hearted concept (and I thought it would be very cool to have a whole lot of fiery, red-headed people get together and hang out. Besides, I have a major installation and a newspaper beat to cover. I wanted to create a chill-out space that would be fun to hang in. Anyone interested?

Interesting. May I ask why?... I can easily see why a person might hate some theme camps, or the notion of "registered" theme camps (and the associated bureaucracy), but I'm genuinely curious to know why you would hate them all.

Might be a little beside the point of this thread -- or it might not.

I hate theme camps in the spirit of Burning Man.

I hate that people doing projects large and small continually prove that they need supervision.

I hate that human spontaneity in the broad artistic realm often conflicts with planning for the incredibly stupid.

I hate that theme camps evolved to what they've become today largely as a method of social and legal control over expression at the event.

I certainly don't hate or blame the BLM or the sheriffs -- laws exist everywhere.

I hate theme camps much in the spirit of why the organization bailed out on providing sound stages a few years ago. The Esplanade camps dominate the look-and-feel of the event along a replication of a suburban strip mall, with very nicely traffic-engineered suburban communities zoned behind them.

I hate that the baffling irony of social control via Black Rock City zoning is not a more troubling issue for more people.

I hate that Stepford-like wifeliness is considered a virtuous de facto success tactic on the playa. Survival tactics are secondary at best. Theme camps are judged by subjective measures of success, that have nothing to do with what happens when three or four inches of rain hit the playa overnight and the people who can afford to do theme camps start cell-phoning for tow trucks.

I hate that theme camps encourage the kind of club-joining and conformity that is so much an inspiration and target for iconoclasts like the rest of us. Even if I wanted to join a club, I would not have picked Burning Man as a place to coerce me into being a joiner.

I hate that theme camps advertise at our expense.

I hate that this is an art event that encourages "participation" -- but only subject to handing over self-direction to others' interpretations of what is responsible and permissible under a strangely fabricated amalgam of legal and extra-legal terms and conditions.

I hate that whatever you do at the event now occurs in a traffic zone not of your own choosing.

I hate that you essentially buy your theme camp space from a theme camp department according to their assessment of commercial worth in terms of attracting ticket-holders of a certain stripe.

I hate that the "City" part has ceded and/or superseded the "Rock" and the "Black".

But I love the love I have for theater, and the love I have for irony -- this outwieghs everything else, and keeps me coming to the event. Love plain and simple helps me justify my love for all you moopers, and for Camp Hedon From the Planet of Wanton. I would die to protect their right to camp.

Bob wrote:But I love the love I have for theater, and the love I have for irony -- this outwieghs everything else, and keeps me coming to the event. Love plain and simple helps me justify my love for all you moopers, and for Camp Hedon From the Planet of Wanton. I would die to protect their right to camp.

While my experience and interpretation of the limits that are imposed to keep the event safe for 30,000 differs greatly from yours, I'm glad to read that there is some good that you still get out of Burning Man.

This is the first non-vitriolic paragraph I've read from you in some time, Bob. I hope I don't scare you away from writing more of them by expressing my gratitude.

Still nothing from Random Future! But this conversation has turned into something even more interesting than the original string!

And Bob, you deserve credit for coming out swinging with your opinions, although they don't make a great deal of sense to me. I perceive that these boundaries, from the city limits to the roads, to the inhjunction to bring your own water, evolved from a mixture of common sense and the need to build something which would be sustained over the course of years and not collapse out of its lack of forsight.

A world without some boundaries would be anarchic, but not in a good way.

While my experience and interpretation of the limits that are imposed to keep the event safe for 30,000 differs greatly from yours, I'm glad to read that there is some good that you still get out of Burning Man.

Agree in part. The Dark Side of this is the unfortunate, creeping belief I've been starting to have over the last few months that a good number of what we're seeing in the way of rules, regs and negotiations - not to mention judgements on theme camp worthiness and placement - are more about keeping things safe for the sake of allowing the event to grow larger at the expense of its soul.

Hell, I KNOW this won't go over well with with a few lurkers from the project who slide in here occasionally to take the pulse of things but that's how I've been feeling as of late.

ehh, you do your thing and I will do mine. I gurarantee, if we pass each other on the playa, I will still nod, smile, laugh, hug, share, love and respect you (all) for participating in you're own way...[/b]

Sorry, I was away on vacation and did not want to see a computer or cell phone.

So after reading the posts here and there. The group who loosely call themselves the original thinkers on the playa are ready to respond to all you critics.

First, we believe strongly in our charter, ie, giving back to the idea that created the "toys" that we enjoy. We are also conscious of the many ways the burning spirit evolves in each one of us. As I said, we have spent a good deal of time and money on the project. I am of the understanding that several hurdles (regulatory, logistical, etc) have been dealt with.

There are several new issues that have come up, that I feel I must address here. 1) The issue of media attention--believe me, we don't want media attention--put us in the back row for that one. 2) We want a sanitary area--yes we know the wind, sand, rain etc....hey, remember, we have an ex-army logistics coordinator on the team who helped set up the army over in the persian. 3) Showers are as a matter of fact going to be plentiful--and if that means ordering more trucks...so be it. 4) The generators ordered are enclosed semi trailer mounted with their own self contained fuel tank--CAT Model with the 750kwh rating.

Should the BM fathers have concerns or any of you al, which have expressed responsible concerns....I invite you to my offices on Sand Hill Road (that should give you a hint at what we do), to look at the model that we have built of the encampment and facilities. You can also review the equipment list, supply list, menu for the week and if you want you can even volunteer to help out. As far as security, that is still a big deal for su to make sure it blends in and no one knows they are there, except at the front entrance.

Again, for the doubters and haters.....please, consider your own inner feelings of why you feel that way. Strong emotions may come from other issues....so Dr. Phil says.

So as the final plans are drawn and the everything reduced to paper, so everyone can see....please hold on to your shorts, as we are in for what hell of a good time. OH I forgot to tell you, we were requested to have music and a 3 bands have volunteered to play...

Contact me if you wish to know more details, and as I said the website is coming.